Fees within early childhood education from 1.8.2024

The fees charged for children’s early childhood education are based on Act on Client Fees in Early Childhood Education and Care (1503/2016).

Family size

A family is defined as partners sharing the same household, whether married or common-law spouses and the minor children of both partners living in the same household.

Family income

The family incomes consist of the incomes of parents (sharing a household, whether married or common-law spouses) and of children who are considered when defining the size of a family. The income includes all taxable earned and capital income, tax-free income. A holiday bonus of 5 % is added to the income. If the income varies from month to month, the average monthly income shall be counted as income. If the family does not declare their income, the maximum fee will be charged.

Monthly fee

The monthly fee for early childhood education is determined by the family’s size, service needs, and gross income.

The client fee is charged for a maximum of eleven months during the year of operation (August 1 – July 31). July is a free month. If the child has started in early childhood education and care on September 1 or later, the daycare fee will also be charged for the month of July of the upcoming year.

The size of the family and gross incomes for the lowest fee and the highest fee:

If the family size is greater than six, the income limit used as the basis for fee determination is raised by 275 euros for each additional minor child in the family.

Maximum and minimum client fees, fees for siblings

The highest monthly client fee in early childhood education is 311 € for a child. If the monthly payment for a child is below 30 euros, the fee will not be charged.

The family’s first child always refers to the family’s youngest child in early childhood education. When the family has several children in early childhood education, the fee for the second youngest child in full-time early childhood education is a maximum of 40 % of the fee for the youngest child, yet no more than 124 €. The charge for additional children is 20 % of the fee charged for the first child.

Fees determined by the number of hours in early childhood education

The family decides the hours in early childhood education in their application to early childhood education and care. The fee is determined and charged according to these previously agreed care times. For instance, if the need for early childhood education recorded in the agreement is 85 – 125 hours a month, 75 per cent of the total fee will be charged.

The need for services will be determined for a minimum of five months, and this cannot be done retrospectively. The agreement will not be amended for vacation periods.

When an agreement is made for less than full-time care (more than 147 hours), the parents must ensure that the previously agreed hours are enough during all months. The agreed number of hours cannot be exceeded during any month. Please note that the child’s care hours and days off must be reported via the Edlevo app at least one week (7 days) in advance – by 12 pm on Sundays.

Fees for early childhood education needed in addition to pre-primary education

According to the Basic Education Act, pre-school education (4 hours/day) is free of charge. If the child needs daycare in addition to pre-primary education, a fee will be charged according to the table below. If the child needs shift care in addition to the pre-school education, the fee charged will be 80 % of the full-time care fee.

The guardians must ensure that the agreed number of hours in care will be sufficient during pre-school holidays. If the number of hours is exceeded, an excess fee will be invoiced. Children in pre-primary education who need care during the holiday period are charged a temporary care fee (€ 25 / day). Normal client fees are charged during summertime.

Changes in the service needs

If there is a change in the child’s need for early childhood education services, it must be agreed on in advance with the head of the child’s early childhood education unit. A new agreement on service needs will be drafted for at least five months. The fee will change at the beginning of the following calendar month, and a new fee decision will always be taken. The service needs can change, e.g., due to changes regarding work or studies or family situation.

Beginning and ending the care relationship

The granted place for early childhood education is considered received on the date indicated in the decision about early childhood education, and invoicing begins on the date in question. If a place for early childhood education duly applied for and granted for a child is not accepted, and no cancellation notice is given before the starting date of the care relationship, half of the monthly client fee will be charged. You are kindly asked to provide a notification about ending the care relationship to the manager of the early childhood education unit one month before ending it. The invoicing stops on the final day of care.

Impact of absences on the client fee

• Holidays do not decrease the child’s fees in early childhood education.
• Half of the monthly fee is charged if the child is absent from daycare due to illness on at least 11 operating days during a calendar month.
• No fee is charged if the child is absent from daycare due to illness on every operating day during a calendar month. Please notify the early childhood education unit immediately after the illness appears in case of absence due to illness.
• Half of the monthly fee is charged if the child is absent from daycare for reasons other than illness every day during a calendar month. If the child participates in early childhood education for even one day, the monthly fee will be charged in full.
• There are separate instructions for absence during summertime and Christmas holiday; see
  https://www.vaasa.fi/en/living/early-childhood-education-and-schools/early-childhood-education/customer-fees-for-early-childhood-education/

Impact of joint custody on the client fees

If the child’s guardians live in separate locations, but the early childhood education for the child is arranged only in one municipality, the fee will be determined by that family’s income, at which the child lives according to the population register system. The fee will be defined by the guardian’s current family size and income and according to the agreed care time. The child’s guardians then agree with each other about how they will pay the child’s fee for early childhood education.

Payment decision

The income statement is to be submitted at the latest at the start of early childhood education. The payment decision is always based on the statement of income. If the statement is not submitted by the date given, the maximum fees for early childhood education will automatically be charged.

The guardians can give permission to verify their incomes in the Incomes Register or Kela files. Permission can be granted in writing either using the income information form or by email at varhaiskasvatus.laskutus@vaasa.fi. Self-employed persons are not registered in the Incomes Register.

The earliest time for amending the client fee decision is the beginning of the month when the income statement or other corresponding clarification is submitted.

Revising the fee

The client fee for early childhood education is adjusted if the family income changes significantly (+/- 10 %). It can also be revised if the fee turns out to be incorrect, the family size changes, the child’s need for early childhood education changes significantly, or if the current statutes/decisions change.

The client fee must be revised once a year, which is why families must also provide their income information once a year. Should changes occur to the submitted information (income, family size etc.) before the annual revision, these must be reported immediately. If there are changes to the information in the middle of a month, the fee will be adjusted from the beginning of the following month.

If the decision about setting the fee has been based on incorrect information given by the client or their representative, or if the changes to the information have not been reported, the fee can be collected retroactively for a maximum of one year.

Changes to information

Guardians are obliged to immediately report any changes to information relevant to the setting of the client fee. This information includes e.g. changes to income or family size (for instance, if the guardians move to different addresses or a new adult moves into the household).

Information needed for the setting/revision of client fees, including attachments, must be sent to the following address:

City of Vaasa / Early Childhood Education/daycare fees

Raastuvankatu 29

65100 Vaasa

Alternatively, you can submit the information by email to varhaiskasvatus.laskutus@vaasa.fi. We recommend sending the data via secure email.

Changes to a child’s service needs and new contact information must be provided to the daycare director / supervisor of family daycare.

Fee decisions

Fee decisions are always based on an income declaration. Income details must be provided no later than when the child begins early childhood education.

If no income details are provided, then the highest fee will be charged for early childhood education. The client fee is reviewed once a year.

If the family income or other circumstances change, the fee decision may be changed at the earliest from the beginning of the month in which an income statement or other satisfactory documents are submitted.

A fee that has been determined in the absence of income details will not be retroactively corrected.

Children in the same family may have different levels of early childhood contributions, as payment decisions use child-specific income (e.g. child support, pension, unearned income). This income only affects the care fee for the child in question.

Income information needed to determine the fee

• Employees: the latest salary, showing accruals and fringe benefits
• Students: Certificate of study, which is obtained from the institute and which shows the estimated time of graduation.
• Single parent: Copy of the maintenance / joint custody agreement
• Social assistance: copies of decisions and payments (e.g. sickness allowance, maternity and parental allowance or unemployment allowance, rehabilitation allowance, rehabilitation support, pensions)
• Capital income: Copy of an income statement (e.g. rental income, dividend income)
•  Entrepreneurs: 

Copy of the last completed tax assessment

Statement of withholding tax and prepayment tax for the current year

Copy of last completed income statement and balance sheet (not limited liability company)

Copy of the minutes of the last annual general meeting (limited liability company) and / or the accountant’s certificate of salaries and other dividends.

Notification of income changes

Primarily, income changes notification should be submitted via the Edlevo App. Alternatively, it can be reported using the income declaration form.

A family is obliged to notify the Early Childhood Education Administration (in writing and with appendices) if the income of the family changes significantly (more than 10%) or if the work, study situation or the size of the family changes.

To adjust the client fee, please submit an income statement form with attachments by email (varhaiskasvatus.laskutus@vaasa.fi) or by letter to:

City of Vaasa
Early Childhood Education
PO Box 2 (Raastuvankatu 29)
65101 Vaasa

Mark the envelope ‘Customer Fees for Early Childhood Education’

If the decision regarding the determination of the fee is based on incorrect information given by the client or their representative, then the fee can be retroactively adjusted.

The client fee will also be reviewed if applicable regulations are changed.

How joint custody affects the client fee

If the guardians of the child reside at different addresses but the child is provided with early childhood education in only one municipality, the payment is based on the income of the family where the child resides according to the population data register.

The fee is determined according to the current family size, gross income and the agreed period of care. The child’s guardians must mutually agree on how the invoice for the child’s early childhood education is paid.

• Holidays do not reduce the client fee.
• When a child is absent from early childhood education because of illness for at least 11 working days during the calendar month, then only half the normal monthly fee will be charged.
• When a child is absent due to illness for all working days during the calendar month, there is no charge at all. Absence due to illness should be reported to the early childhood education centre as soon as the illness begins.
• When a child is absent for all working days during the calendar month for any reason other than illness, then half the monthly fee will be charged. If the child has one day of attendance, the entire month’s fee will be charged.
• The child is not entitled to early childhood education during family leave. Read more here.

Agreement on absence during the summer and how it affects the client fee

July is a free month for all children that started early childhood education no later than August of the previous year (e.g. July is free of charge if the child started early childhood education by 31 August).

There is no charge under the Customer Fees Act for July, even if the child is attending care. However, if the child started early childhood education on 1 September or later, a client fee is always charged for July.

Families in Vaasa can also receive two free months during the summer if the child is away from early childhood education in both June and July.

In addition, an absence agreement can also be made for the period from 1 – 15 August, in which case the customer fee for August is refunded for 11 days for this period. It is also possible to separately agree on absence in August, which does not require an absence agreement for June-July.

Free periods are valid if the guardians announce any absence during the summer with a written agreement. 

The notification is binding and agreements that come in after the deadline will not be considered. If the child enters early childhood education during the agreed absence period, the agreement is stopped.

A child’s place at an early childhood education centre remains as normal despite the free periods during the summer, but home care support will not be available.

Notify your child’s absence or need for early childhood education during the Christmas holidays

Note! In addition to this, care times must be booked / absence must also be notified at Edlevo.

Preschool education is not provided during the holidays and a separate fee is charged for early childhood education for children attending only preschool education.

Early childhood education is organized in day care centres, which will be open during the Christmas holiday.

An application must be submitted in writing regarding a case-specific reduction of the client fee for early childhood education. Decisions are subject to social assistance criteria and their associated application guidelines.

From this link, you can print the customer fee discount or exemption form.

The application and relevant attachments will be returned to:

City of Vaasa
Early Childhood Education / Service Manager Maria Karvonen
PO Box 2 (Raastuvankatu 29)
65101 Vaasa

The application must include pre-copied attachments. A photocopying service is located at the Citizen Services (Kansalaisinfo) desk (Vaasa Main Library, ground floor).

As a general rule, reductions in client fees are not granted retrospectively, but at the earliest from the beginning of the month when the application was received at the Early Childhood Education Client Service.

If a child is taken care of in a private daycare facility, the family may receive a service voucher. In this case, the fee for private daycare is the same as for municipal early childhood education.

The service providers approved by the City of Vaasa, i.e. service voucher daycare facilities, are

• English Playschool
• Folkhälsans daghem
• Kolibridalens daghem
• päiväkoti Lyhty
• Manna daghem
• Nappulaketo daghem
• Pilke Pikkuponin päiväkoti
• Rantapääskyn päiväkodi-Strandsvalans daghem
• Steinerpäiväkoti Tiitiäinen
• Touhula Kalliokadun päiväkoti
• Touhula Pursimiehenkadun päiväkoti
• Tuulenpesän päiväkoti

Click here to learn how to apply for a place in a private daycare facility.

• The guardian receives both an electronic service decision and a decision on a service voucher from the early childhood education administration in the Edlevo App.

• The guardian receives a written decision on a service voucher from the early childhood education administration

• The client fee is determined in the city’s early childhood education administration on the same basis as the municipal early childhood education client fee.
• The guardian pays the client fee directly to the private daycare centre.

The guardian also has the right to refuse the voucher offered, in which case the child is allocated a municipal early childhood education place.

For more information on private daycare and service vouchers, see early childhood education tutorials:

• varhaiskasvatus.palveluohjaus@vaasa.fi
• tel. 06-325 2552 (mon – fri 9.00 – 15.00)

Preschool education (4h / day) according to the Basic Education Act is free of charge. If a child needs early childhood education in addition to preschool education, a fee will be charged according to the table below. If the child needs care in addition to preschool education, 80% of the full-time care fee is charged.

During preschool holidays, full-time early childhood education is charged the full daily fee for days spent or booked. For preschool children only, who need care during the holidays, there is a fee for temporary care (€ 25 / day). A new service contract will be signed if a preschool child needs early childhood education after 31 May. This is subject to a client fee based on the family’s income.